Study of fog characteristics by using the 1-D model COBEL at the airport of Thessaloniki, Greece

An attempt is made to couple the one dimensional COBEL - ISBA (COuche Brouillard Eau Liquide Interactions Soil Biosphere Atmosphere) model with the WRF numerical weather prediction model. This accomplishment will improve the accuracy of the short-term forecasting of fog events, which is of paramount importance -mainly to the airway companies, the airports functioning and the community as well- and will provide the means for the implementation of extensive studies of fog events forming at the “Macedonia” airport of Thessaloniki. Numerical experiments have been performed to study in depth the thermodynamic structure and the microphysical characteristics of the fog event that was formed on 6 th of January 2010. Moreover, the meteorological conditions that prevailed during the formation of the fog event are also investigated. Sensitivity tests with respect to the initial conditions of temperature and relative humidity profiles have been performed to illustrate the model’s performance. The numerical results have been thoroughly studied and the findings have been evaluated and discussed.